What's really under the hood of this shiny new Nissan?

Look beneath the shine to learn how Nissan treats its Mississippi employees.

Not Allowing Worker's Voices

Betty Jones, a worker in Nissan's Mississippi plant, loves her job installing engines, but has no voice to achieve fairness in the workplace. When Betty tried to get a voice by becoming a leader of the union, the employer ran a campaign to pressure her into not being involved with the UAW. Workers deserve the right to speak up about important issues so they can improve the company and its products.

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Creating Long-Term Temporary Status

Lee Ruffin installs seats in Nissan vehicles alongside temporary workers who do the same job as he does, only for less pay, limited benefits and no job security. Nissan's business practice of employing temporary workers for years on end is a race to the bottom. Temporary workers deserve permanent employment and equal treatment for their years of hard work.

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Blocking a Fair Union Election

James Brown and his co-workers in the Altima Body Shop deserve the opportunity to hear both sides before they decide on union representation. So far, Nissan has refused to allow union supporters equal time to counteract Nissan's anti-union campaign. During work time, Nissan creates an atmosphere where workers fear for their jobs and livelihoods if they unionize. There is no possibility of a fair election in this environment.

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Creating Second-Class Citizens

Rafael Martinez, originally from Panama, explains to his coworkers in the Trim Department that Nissan recognizes and collectively bargains with unions in its home country of Japan and around the world. Mississippi workers are second-class global citizens, denied the right to form a union, a right Nissan extends to their co-workers around the world.

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Waging a Fear Campaign

Wayne Walker applies paint to the Altima under Nissan’s intense campaign of fear. Nissan has attempted to prevent workers from considering a union by holding anti-union individual and group meetings, and showing plant-wide videos implying that a union could result in the plant’s closure and loss of jobs. Nissan attacks the integrity of the union and its supporters in order to instill fear in the plant and silence its workers.

"With Nissan, you have to look beneath the shine. Nissan builds great vehicles, but the company should respect the rights and dignity of its Mississippi workforce." – Reverend Dr. Isiac Jackson Jr., chair of the Mississippi Alliance for Fairness at Nissan and president of the General Missionary Baptist State Convention of Mississippi

Clergy members, activists, politicians, students, and concerned citizens from across Mississippi created the Mississippi Alliance for Fairness at Nissan (MAFFAN) to protest Nissan’s intimidation and suppression of union activity and to advocate for a fair union election process at Nissan’s Canton, Mississippi plant.

The organization was founded after Congressman Bennie Thompson called on Mississippi leaders to form a committee to stand up for Nissan workers. MAFFAN members ask you to look further, beneath the shine, to understand the issues in Mississippi.